Not-So-Haute Couture

Butterick/Unique B4609 In lavender silk noil. I've made this pattern 3 times, shortening it all around-front/sleeves/back above the armscye--on the 3rd go 'round. Which improved the fit lengthwise, but brought into focus the fact that the width is wrong. It's just too wide. Bottom line is that this 'custom fitted' pattern doesn't. I'm tired of paying Unique $15-$20 (on top of the original $99 bodyskan fee), waiting several weeks for a pattern to arrive, then sewing it up and finding that the only place it fits reasonably well is the bust and hips. I email Unique with a laundry list of fit issues, they re-draft & send me another pattern that may or may not fit. I'd rather pay $1.99 on sale for a size 16-18 big 3 pattern that fits my upper body, then do an FBA and adjust the sleeve, waist and hip width. I used to think that was too much work but I've changed my mind. If I could get just one great fitted shirt pattern it would do so much for my war...

It's Passover: SHANGRI LAW: And the Lord Sent Ten Plagues unto Egypt (thanks to Manolo for the link). It's Easter: The Passion of The Tchotchke (thanks to Going Jesus for this one).

I've got a lot of projects going at once--something I don't ordinarily do 'cause things get mixed up. In the hopper, or just out: Unique jacket in poly/rayon pinstripe is all cut out (and I really need clothes!) but I interupted it for... Scalloped apron, which is 1/2 finished and looking cuter everyday. I thought it would be a quick project--maybe 2 evenings, but noooooooo! It's been about a week now, and still not done. But getting there. 2 flannel blankets for the grandbaby--these really were quick; both are finished and were wrapped around the baby, who pooped all over his clothes and needed both blankies to keep warm on the way home since all he had on was a diaper and it's been raining cats and dogs for days now. Black sweater, which I cut out months ago and haven't sewed up yet. Probably because I have about 3 black sweaters already. But I was given this sweater knit from a sister sewist and I want to try sewing with it. Plus it's a v-neck, which I l...

Dig this! Fabrix is a discount fabric store in San Francisco that I just found out about.

Currently in the works: Unique princess seam jacket in a lovely polyester/rayon pinstripe. Jacket is cut out and ready to baste. Pants to match the above jacket. Need to make some adjustments to the pattern to get rid of the last of the back-thigh bagginess. Butterick/Unique B4609 shirt in lavender silk noil. Needs hem, buttons & buttonholes. And this cute apron from the Paisley Pincushion : I traced the pattern last night. I did the petite chest tuck and increased the dart. I know it's just an apron, but I want it to fit well enough that I don't have to be tugging the straps up all the time. I think this is apron is just the cutest thing. I can put my Flylady timer in the top pocket where it's less likely to get bumped. No bothersome ties. I can throw it on after I get dressed in the morning so I won't mess up my work clothes while I eat breakfast. And I can make it out of some fun cotton prints that I would never otherwise wear.

Guess what!? I'm petite! I'm just a wee little thing, so delicate that a gust of wind could blow me away--NOT! But I did have a petite fitting epiphany while working on my latest shirt: I need to take a tuck in the bodice--above the bust--just as if I really were petite. I have known that my backwaist length is around 2" shorter than standard patterns, but I always thought it meant I was short- waisted when what I really am is short- chested . This short-chestedness is the cause of my most hated fitting problem: Collars falling down my back. I hate it when the collar falls down my back! And it does in every single ready-to-wear shirt I have ever tried on, as well as many shirts I have made. Now I know how to fix it! Taking the same tuck at the same level across the front, sleeves and back pattern pieces eliminates the individual fiddling I used to do on each piece. It takes care of too-long sleeves and too-low armholes, and puts the waistline mark in the correct ...

What better way to celebrate getting our taxes done than to get a new pair of shoes? Besides, my old ones were about worn out. Check out my black Bandolino pumps: The cute heel and squared-off pointy toe give it a little more fashion edge that my usual basic boring dress pump. I love them.

Neat-o blog of NYC on-the-street fashion: The Sartorialist , linked from A Dress A Day .